Watch your back, cupcakes. La Petite Macaron, a new Farmingdale-based business, is betting macarons are The Next Big Baked Thing. A French confection that up till now has been a rarity on Long Island, the macaron consists of two almond-meringue halves sandwiching a flavored filling. The pale meringues take on color beautifully and can be stuffed with virtually anything -- ganache, lemon curd, buttercream -- that is sweet and creamy.

Sisters Ann Marie Capuano and Fran D'Ambrosio discovered macarons at a bakery in Sarasota, Fla., about 2½ years ago. D'Ambrosio, an accomplished home baker, started experimenting with recipes and before long was producing macarons in her Commack kitchen. "I started baking for friends, then their parties, then their weddings," she said. "We realized that we were going to have to find a commercial kitchen and make a business."

About three months ago, they baked their first batch at A Taste of Long Island in Farmingdale, which combines a commercial kitchen with a retail store. Now, they offer seven varieties: hazelnut cream, raspberry, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, lemon and pistachio. D'Ambrosio stressed that "they aren't just colors. They really taste like what they are. Real pistachios in the pistachio filling, real raspberries in the raspberry buttercream, real lemons in the lemon curd."

Capuano, the marketing half of the two, has sold the macarons into Babylon Bean Coffee House, Queen City Cupcakes in Patchogue, Serious Chocolate in Bay Shore, Fratelli's in Stony Brook and Naturally Free Foods, the gluten-free market in Smithtown.

They are also available, for $2 apiece, at their point of origin, A Taste of Long Island, 211 Main St., Farmingdale, 516-694-2859.

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